Share the DREAMs

Feb. 20, 2013 — Carolyn

Why are you part of a GSA club? Do you dream of a country where all LGBT youth can grow up without fear?

Then support and share the stories of LGBT Dreamers.

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Late last summer, President Obama created the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to enable people who came to the United States as children —- commonly known as “Dreamers”—- to apply for work permits and relief from deportation.

The fund is just one small part of a national movement for change. At the heart of this movement are youth, with groups like United We Dream[3] and its Queer Undocumented Immigrant Project (QUIP) organizing young people who have bravely come out twice: as undocumented and as LGBT.

Reading and sharing these stories is essential to advancing this movement. That's why, in addition to the LGBT Dreamers Fund, LGBT organizations -- led by the National Center for Lesbian Rights, the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, and the Evelyn & Walter Hass, Jr. Fund -- have launched a new site, www.LGBTDreamersStories.com[1], for LGBT Dreamers to share their stories.

The site tells stories like that of Alejandra:

Alejandra Estrada hasn’t known any other home than the United States. She was just 3 months old in 1989 when her mother brought her and her sister across the U.S.-Mexico border. She excelled in school, and after high school graduation she began cleaning houses with her mother, with the two recently starting a small house-cleaning business in Las Vegas.

Alejandra, who also received a grant through the fund, submitted her DACA application and is hopeful it is approved so she can achieve her dreams of attending college and majoring in early childhood education.

“A change of status could really change everything,” said Alejandra, adding that her immigration status has limited her abilities, not only to excel professionally, but to grow. “Even though I have been here since I was a baby, there’s still this feeling that I don’t belong. Becoming a citizen and getting everything squared away will be an incredible relief.”

Check out the stories today and share them with your GSA! And if you would like to apply for assistance from the LGBT Dreamers Fund, please visit www.LibertyHill.org/LGBTDreamersFund[4].